Fritz Lang's Expressionistic masterwork continues to exert its influence today, from Chaplin's Modern Times to Dr. Strangelove, and into the late 1990s with Dark City. In the stratified society of the future (Y2K no less)... more &raquo, the son of a capitalist discovers the atrocious conditions of the factory slaves, falling in love with the charismatic Maria in the bargain, who preaches nonviolence to the workers. But even the benevolent leadership of Maria is a challenge to the privileged class, so they have the mad-scientist Rotwang concoct a robot double to take her place and incite the workers to riot. The story is melodrama, but it's the powerful imagery that is so memorable, with one of the most arresting images being legions of cowed workers filing listlessly into the great maw of the all-consuming machine-god Moloch. --Jim Gay&laquo less

Movie Reviews

Great film, but buy the UK dual-format version

I am on first! | Australia | 09/13/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I cannot wait for this to arrive in November. But, if you really like this movie, take a look at the edition that amazon.co.uk has up for pre-order....STEELBOOK with I think better art, plus it has both Blu-Ray + DVD versions of this classic."

I saw this at the Cleveland Museum of Art in May 2010

Robin A. Lewis | 09/18/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having loved every release of Metropolis since I first saw the Moroder version with Queen's music in college, I was quite excited to get the opportunity to see this newly restored 2 and 1/2 hour version with the 16 mm reduction negative of the original premiere cut of the film, including almost all of the lost scenes, that were found in the archives of the Museo del Cine in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Cleveland Museum of Art showed it in high definition with a new recording of the original score. It was marvelous! The additional footage (which is rather grainy, making it evident which parts came from the 16 mm negative) included: the adventures of 11811,the worker who trades places with Freder; the Thin Man spying on Josephat; Maria's incarceration; Rotwang's gloating and Maria's subsequent escape; and scenes which establish the longstanding rivalry between Joh Fredersen and Rotwang. The added sequences made a tremendous difference to the flow of the story! I can't wait to add this to my collection."

A Complete Silent Movie Experience

Samantha Kelley | USA | 09/24/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw this movie screened in a theater and I was astounded by how big a difference a half an hour makes.

Metropolis is the story of a city that allows complete luxury for the wealthy by enslaving the poor. The city founded Joh Fredersen exerts complete control; crossing him means being sent to the depths. His son Freder becomes curious about the men below and he spends time with the workers. He quickly discovers their horrible living conditions, and finds out about a peaceful revolutionary group that meets in the catacombs. Maria leads the meetings where she speaks about a mediator that will come and remedy the division between the wealthy and the poor. Joh finds out about her and encourages a mad scientist to copy her image into the form of a robot. He then uses the robot to control the masses and try to take away their power. Freder fights back.

The new footage adds a new dimension to the film. (It is obvious which pieces are new, because they are not restored with the digital restoration process used on the old footage.) We see 11811 galavanting around town to the nightclub where the robot seduces the men. The Thin Man gets more screen time, and he becomes a very memorable character. There is more development in the relationship between Joh and Rotwang too. The biggest difference is the pacing. Before, Metropolis felt like an art film that required a lot of imagination and interpretation. Now, it is a complete silent film experience. The message is clearly explained and the story is fully developed.